The Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment to the Health-Enhancing Lifestyle and Emotional Distress of Women Undergoing Infertility Treatment with in Vitro Fertilization

Introduction:The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy on the lifestyle of improving the health and emotional distress of women undergoing infertility treatment with the in vitro fertilization (IVF) method.Methods: The method of this study was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a follow-up stage.The statistical population of the study included women undergoing infertility treatment with the IVF method referring to the infertility center of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in the first six months of 2012.In this research, 27 women undergoing infertility treatment with IVF method were selected by voluntary sampling method and replaced by random method in test and control groups.The experimental group underwent acceptance and commitment therapy (10 sessions) for two and a half months.A health-promoting lifestyle questionnaire (HPLP) and an emotional distress questionnaire (Lavibond and Lavibond, 1995) were used as research tools.The data were analyzed using a mixed analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test.Results: It showed that the treatment based on acceptance and commitment to the lifestyle level improves health (Eta = 0.56, F = 19.74)and has a significant effect on the dimensions of emotional disorders such as depression (P < 0.0001, Eta = 0.58, F = 0.58).F = 34), anxiety (P > 0001; Eta = 0.59; F = 35.69),and stress (P > 0.0001; Eta = 0.61; F = 40.12) of women undergoing infertility treatment with the IVF, and has been able to lead to increase a healthy lifestyle, reduce depression, anxiety, and stress in these individuals.Conclusions: Acceptance and commitment therapy, utilizing six psychological acceptance processes, cognitive breakdown, self under context, interaction with the present, specified values, and committed behavior, can be used as an effective treatment to reduce emotional distress in women undergoing IVF infertility treatment.